


The Cipher and The Spy, Part IV

by Saradi



Series: The Cipher and the Spy [4]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance, Theron Shan added to Imperial Spy basic story, We'll Always Have Tatooine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25585642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saradi/pseuds/Saradi
Relationships: Female Imperial Agent | Cipher Nine/Theron Shan
Series: The Cipher and the Spy [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825405
Kudos: 4





	The Cipher and The Spy, Part IV

If this was a holovid, it would be ending on a windswept, rainy pier at night, the ocean splashing turbulently up onto the planks. It would be fraught with emotion and full of romance.

I guess we got two out of three, but this was us baking in the double suns of Tatooine at high double noon. Fade in, Saradi and I facing each other in a warehouse, blasters pulled, safeties off, pointed at each other. True love, right?

“So, are you going to shoot me?” I asked her.

“I would prefer not to. You?”

“Same, don't want to. How about you put your blaster down?”  
  
“No. Why don't you put yours down?” She said in clipped syllables, with that accent. That...accent.

“Yeah....No.”

So here we are. She's got an extraction team heading this way, but it's a ways away. I can't see anything on a scan, but I know they are on planet. I followed her here from Nar Shaada when she left the operation Hunter had planned for her defection. She'd apparently had enough of us. All of us.

“Would you just tell me why?” I asked. I hoped my voice was steady.

“I'm not going to say anything because you are probably recording it, and what I'd tell you isn't anything the Republic needs to know.”

“I record everything.” I said, nodding. Her right eyebrow went up, which I was pretty sure meant something, but I didn't know her well enough to know what. I think she was amused, but I wasn't going to take any chances. She still was staring me down, her finger on the trigger.

“Everything?”

“No. Not that.” I could feel blood suffuse my face. Fuck. Was I blushing? Terrific.

“My mission is complete, my target was neutralized.” She said. There were no high value targets missing that I knew about, but I might be a little behind on intel. I wasn't paying attention to incoming electronic communications at all last night.

“Did you ever intend to defect?” I countered.

“Not really, no. But since we are on the subject, let me offer some constructive criticism for your defection process.”

Here it comes. I resisted rolling my eyes because I knew of all the things I could do right now, that would be the thing that gets me shot, probably somewhere tender.

“Besides the instant and warm welcome I got to the Republic, the attempt to use conditioning against me in order to get me to comply was a special, nice touch.” Her voice was packed with sarcasm. She was winding up. It would be a really bad time to remind her that based on her not staying, it might have been justified. Except I don't think making someone do something against their will ever is.

“I really appreciated being given assignments that you'd give an operative fresh out of the academy just to test my skills. That's ego-driven, I'll agree..but what a waste of my time, and I'd hope, yours. And keeping with the welcoming theme, the code name “Legate”? Seriously? That certainly made me feel warm and fuzzy. Did they think I don't know how to play sabacc?”

The Legate card in Centran sabacc was the tiebreaker, often the sacrifice, and was the designation she'd been given in the ops that had been set up.

“I can see your point, and could see it when this was all being decided. Mine was the lone voice of dissent for the operation the way it was planned, but I was overruled.”

The part she might not know is how much damage control I had been doing. Was doing. But you can't really say that without sounding defensive and maybe a touch whiny. Neither thing I really wanted to present right now. Besides, the part between us wasn't intended, and it most definitely wasn't damage. That just happened. There isn't much that Just Happens to me, but this ran me over like...well I don't really have a simile. It ran me over.

I heard a transport land in the yard outside the warehouse. I had seen the blip of it when it was about 20 kilometers out. Imperial troops came in, weapons at ready. They surrounded me. Well, this is it, I guess. I gently put my blasters on the packing box in front of me, then put my hands on my head.

“No,” Saradi said. “Leave him.” 

They were well-disciplined, Imperial Intelligence operatives hold corresponding military ranks. They backed off, but still had weapons pointed and it was clear they didn't want to. She holstered her weapon and signaled the Captain of the troop that she'd be right there.

She leaned in to me, supporting herself with her hand on my chest. I still had my hands on my head. “I really do like you, Theron. I wish things were different.”

I could fall into the pools of her blue eyes and live happily there for the rest of my life. That is, if I didn't have 12 blaster rifles pointed at my face. I have never felt this way about anyone, and doubt I will again.

Don't go....Stay with me.

But what I said was: “Same. Take care of yourself, ok?”

“I will. You too.” The troop circled her as they walked off, putting her in the middle for protection as Imperials do. It certainly wasn't from me. I won't ever raise a hand..or a blaster..to her ever again. She said she'd neutralized her target. Maybe it was me..?

I suspected this would hurt...and it does. She turned to give me one last look as she boarded the transport. I watched as it took off vertically and sped away. I may see her again, but it will always be on The Other Side. There isn't a chance in the Five Hells we'll ever work together...be together...again. 

Such is life, I guess. I holstered my blasters and headed for the speeder parked on the other side of the warehouse, out of the baking sun. Time to get off this hellhole of a planet and get as drunk as is physically possible on some beach somewhere. Before took off, I left a message for my CO calling in Dead for the next month. If that didn't work for them, they could fire me. I didn't care.

After that, we'll see.


End file.
